Composer and undergraduate, Cooper Wood, created a musical composition around the experience of life on Lake Erie. How does a composition come to life? Wood, a self-taught musician, found inspiration for the main theme while running along the Olentangy River. Wood shares his creative process in this video.
His piece, based on a story by KX intern, Natalie Keener, celebrates the life of Mike, a man who spent his childhood catching fish, raised his family along the shore, and now shares his love of the lake with grandchildren. The lighter themes of nature, relaxation, and family recreation balances with the obstacles created by decreased tourism, loss of biodiversity, and tension in the community caused by harmful algal blooms. Read the full story below.
Mike has lived on the lake his entire life. From his father teaching him how to fish and pilot a boat to birdwatching with his mother, his childhood was filled with fun and laughter. It was so fun, in fact, that he and his wife Wendy decided to raise their own family here. Wendy grew up in the city, and loved how peaceful and quiet the lake was. Their home was surrounded by trees on all sides, and the entirety of Lake Erie was their backyard. In the chill of every early morning, Mike and Wendy would take out their kayaks and enjoy the sunrise painting the water pink, gold, and orange. Schools of fish would dart beneath them, their scales flashing in the sun.
It wasn’t always like this, Mike knew. Back in the 1970s, the lake had been much less healthy and there had been far fewer fish. The perch, walleye, and bluegill that he had grown to love and appreciate as a boy were all but gone; whenever he had gone fishing then he would be lucky to get a single nibble. After the factories stopped putting their waste in the lake and companies took the phosphorus out of their laundry detergents, the lake improved and the fish came back. Mike and Wendy could catch 10 fish in an hour now. Fishing was the favorite activity of their grandchildren, Grace and Ross, so they were thankful there were so many fish to catch now.
Grace and Ross visited for a week every summer, in the height of the tourist season. They would watch the lake fill with boats pulling inner tubes and water-skiers, jet skis, paddle boarders, kayakers, and swimmers. Downtown would fill with shoppers and businesses would boom. There was nothing better than the lake in summer: bonfires after the sun has gone down, boat rides with the neighbors, the streets filled with laughing families eating ice cream. Everyone adored the lake when it was calm and sunny, but when a storm rolled in it was only the locals that stayed out on their porches. Mike, Wendy, and the kids enjoyed watching the rain hit the water and the lightning light up the sky. Lake Erie wasn’t just beautiful; it was powerful, too. There was something magical about living on a freshwater lake. Mike and Wendy felt lucky to be there.
Over the years, however, Mike and Wendy began to notice a green, slimy scum spreading on the lake’s surface. Sometimes they couldn’t even take their boat out to catch the sunset because of it—not because it was toxic, but because it was gross to look at. They knew it could get dangerous to swim in, use, and drink eventually, but they trusted that someone would tell them before that happened. Mike read that it was mostly because of the farmers in the area who put fertilizers on their crops, and when it rained, some of the fertilizers ran into the lake. With all the extra nitrogen and phosphorus, it was no wonder the algae was growing and spreading so much.
When the grandkids came up this year, the lake near their cottage was completely green and void of boats. Grace and Ross had never seen it like this before. Instead of running to the shore with innertubes and fishing poles, they stared at the water in shock. Ross even began to cry. Wendy took them to get ice cream, but the empty streets made them even sadder. Nobody wanted to visit Lake Erie now.
It was easy to blame the farmers for how much their lives had changed. Why couldn’t they just use a different fertilizer, or stop using it completely? Even the animals around the lake were leaving. Mike saw people sample the water and decided to talk to them. They were researchers studying the lake’s problem.They explained to him that there wasn’t an easy answer—Ohio, and the rest of the country, depended on the farmers for food, and the crops that they grew needed fertilizer. Instead of blaming the farmers, Mike realized, he and the other people that lived on the lake should be working with them to help solve the problem. It wasn’t going to be an easy fix by any means, so they needed all the help they could get heal the lake. There was something for everyone to do in order to help Lake Erie: people who lived in cities could fix their leaky septic systems, people on the lake could plant flowers and grassy areas to stop runoff from reaching the lake, and farmers could use fertilizer more efficiently thanks to new research.
Even though the lake is different now, Mike told his grandchildren, they were doing all they could to make it right. Grace told her grandfather about how excited she was to swim and innertube again, while Ross dreamed about catching the biggest walleye Lake Erie has ever seen. For now, they could still enjoy the lakeshore and all it had to offer. That night, they sat in a circle with their neighbors around the bonfire and shared memories of a cleaner Lake Erie in the past. They shared hopes for a cleaner lake in the future, too. There really wasn’t any other place on Earth like Lake Erie.
Cooper Wood is a senior at The Ohio State University and will receive his Bachelor of Music in Composition in the spring. Originally from Madison, Ohio, he now lives in Columbus, where he studies under Dr. Thomas Wells and Dr. Jan Radzynski. Prior to attending OSU, Cooper worked with Dr. Matthew Saunders on Composition and Theory at Lakeland Community College.
He takes inspiration for his Contemporary Classic style from a wide range of music—Palestrina to Post Malone—as well as poetry, philosophy, and history. In the future, he plans to earn his doctorate in Composition and become a professor of music and professional composer. Listen to more of his amazing work on Spotify and Soundcloud.
Header image courtesy of Ohio Sea Grant.
